Rollerblading and Inline Skating Tricks: Barrel Roll

What is a Barrel Roll?

a movment coming out of ice/inline hockey
technically: a rotation through a sequence of steps, executed repeatedly
also known as 'Windmill' or 'Drunken Man'
a wonderful opportunity to show off to the non-skating public :-)

Components

A Barrel Roll has 3 main components:

the step sequence, or what your feet do (in the picture above that's left foot forwards,right foot forwards, left foot backwards, right foot backwards, or LF-RF-LB-RB in short notation)
the body rotation - which way you rotate whilst performing that step sequence (counter-clockwise in the picture above)
and the ground figure, or the path/circle you move along (a clockwise circle in the picture above)

Variants

You can vary about everything... but mainly that's

the step sequence: there are 2 variants that perform a full rotation in 4 steps, 2 variants that do so in 2 steps, and 2 variants on one foot (that's one per foot sonny ;-)
the body roation: with each of these step sequence your body can rotate in either direction (clockwise or counter-clockwise). One way round will be much easier resp more 'natural', the other one will require some work.
ground figure: exactly the same here - you can go around in a clockwise or counter-clockwise circle
footwork: refers to the fact that you can either a)have only one foot on the ground at a time or b)have one foot and one wheel of the other on the ground (see picture sequence above for that one), or have all 8 wheels firmly on the ground

Learning a Barrel Roll variant

Prerequisites:
The following skills will come handy when learning any of the Barrel Roll variants below:

ability to roll on either foot only (or with the majority of your weight on either foot, so the other one can move), both forwards and backwards
ability to perform mohawk transitions (a transition switching a) active foot and b)direction, e.g. from right forwards to left backwards, as in pictures 2,3,4 in the series on top of the page), both with your heels pointing at each other, and, for more advanced barrel rolls, with your toes pointing at each other.

Learning sequence:
Learn the parts of any Barrel Roll variant below in the following order - the explanations follow the Variant #1, which is also the one pictures above:

memorize the step sequence, e.g. LF-RF-LB-RB
perform it standing, with the correct body rotation, e.g. counter-clockwise
do this movement whilst moving in a straight line, make sure your steps follow a steady rhythm (conting loud '1-2-3-4' helps):

ensure that your body rotates in the right direction, 90º per step, and consistently (no start/stop movement):

rollerblading tricks barrel roll body rotation

now start with this movement in a straight line, and begin to turn it to one side (to the right for clockwise in this example), gradually bringing it into a circle around a fixed centre (aka ground figure):

rollerblading tricks barrel roll ground figure

Congratultions, you've just learned your first Barrel Roll variant!

A few comments on Barrel Rolls

Edging (that's the way your skates tilt): as a general rule you edge towards the centre of the ground figure, which makes it LF:inside edge-RF:outside edge-LB:outside edge-RB:inside edge for Variant #1. Some people feel that some of the advanced variant are simpler if you edge some steps away from the centre of the ground figure, so feel free to experiement!
Rotation combinations: if your body rotation is the opposite of your ground figure then we talk about a 'counter-roation' Barrel Roll. These have shorter rotational angles and are easier to learn in comparison to variants where both rotations are in the same direction (aka 'co-rotation'). This relationship is indicated in the table of the variants below.
Inverts: all step sequences have a 'natural' or easier way of body rotation associated with them (I'm sure you'll notice which one this is). If you change that rotation to the trickier variant then we talk of an 'Inverted' Barrel Roll. These are indicated below, too. Note that in combinations with the ground figures some of these result in easier varients, despite being the trickier way of rotating!
Do not expect to learn a variant in one go only unless your skating is very good already. For most other people persistance, and repeated work on the elements of the build-up described above will lead to the desired result eventually. Have some patience, work on it each time you skate, and you will succeed!
Need more help getting your head around the basic variant (#1)? Have a look at this page on Londonskaters, which provides a slightly different description of how to learn this simple variant, with pictures and videos of the movement and associated drills.
Still not getting there? Or can do the basic variants, but the more advanced ones simply don't work? Consider taking a lesson, or joining the Freestyle class, where the general approach as well as several variants are discussed in detail!

List of Barrel Roll Variants

OK, here's a complete list of all 24 variants I'm aware of and (mostly...) can perform, too. All the categories are explained above, please refer to the learning sequence for ideas of what to learn next! If you know of variants that are missing here, or have any other comments I'd be happy to hear from you - contact me on !

	Category	co/counter rotation	invert?	step sequence	body rotation	ground figure	learning sequence	comments
1	4 step (classic)	counter		LF-RF-LB-RB			1	'vanilla' barrel roll
2		co		LF-RF-LB-RB			3
3		co	invert	LF-RF-LB-RB			7
4		counter	invert	LF-RF-LB-RB			4	body rotation not constant!
5		counter		RF-LF-RB-LB			1	'vanilla' barrel roll
6		co		RF-LF-RB-LB			3
7		co	invert	RF-LF-RB-LB			7
8		counter	invert	RF-LF-RB-LB			4	body rotation not constant!
9	2 step (aka fast)	counter		LF-RB			3	'classic' 2 step variant
10		co		LF-RB			5
11		co	invert	LF-RB			8
12		counter	invert	LF-RB			2	easiest 2 step variant
13		counter		RF-LB			3	'classic' 2 step variant
14		co		RF-LB			5
15		co	invert	RF-LB			8
16		counter	invert	RF-LB			2	easiest 2 step variant
17	1 foot	counter		RF-RB			6
18		co		RF-RB			9
19		co		RF-RB			9
20		counter		RF-RB			6
21		co		LF-LB			6
22		co		LF-LB			9
23		co		LF-LB			9
24		counter		LF-LB			6

Disclaimer

Skating is a dangerous sport. Be careful. Protect yourself. Take responsibility for yourself when you try the techniques described above, because I can't (and won't). What is described here works for me and the people I've been teaching. It might not work for you. Your mileage will vary. Good luck!

Back to Tricks page